Bryant is charged with one count of felony sexual assault on a 19-year-old worker at a Colorado hotel on June 30. The Los Angeles Lakers guard has said the sex was consensual.

"I hope he beats this and he can get back on the right track, stay focused and just concentrate on basketball,'' McGrady said.

Before being accused, Bryant enjoyed a sterling image and was showered with adulation from fans, advertisers and his peers -- McGrady included.

"Kobe's a great guy, he really is, and I never thought this would occur,'' McGrady said. "I just thought he was that perfect guy with a good, clean image.

"One minute, you're on top of the world. And then the next, endorsement people are backing off of you.''

Bryant already has lost one of his many endorsement contracts; the maker of Nutella chocolate spread is phasing out ads featuring Bryant in part because of his legal troubles.

McGrady and Bryant, each a superstar at age 24, engaged in a season-long duel for the league's scoring crown.

Bryant racked up nine consecutive games in February with at least 40 points. But McGrady rose to the challenge, averaging almost 36 points that month and the next to capture the title with 32.1 points per game to Bryant's 30.

"You'd hear everywhere, 'Who's the better player out of Kobe and T-Mac,''' McGrady said. "It just so happened you had those guys going for the scoring race, just competing every night at a high level. I thought it was good for the league.''

The two were to play together on the U.S. Olympic qualifying team later this month, but Bryant pulled out of the tournament less than a week after the charge was filed against him July 18. He still plans to play for the U.S. team at the 2004 Olympics.

"Hopefully, a lot of fans tune into what we're doing over there in Puerto Rico and not so much worrying about what Kobe's going through,'' said McGrady, who will be making his debut in international competition. "Every time you turn on the channel, it's Kobe this, Kobe that. Hopefully, we can draw some of that attention to us.''

Replacing Bryant on the U.S. team is McGrady's distant cousin, Toronto guard Vince Carter. The two played together on the Raptors for two seasons before McGrady signed with Orlando as a free agent in August 2000.

Well, yeah. I guess I was just shocked that another NBA player actually had something semi-bad to say about Kobe and the whole situation.

I hate it when I'm in a situation where I'm in trouble for something I shouldnt have done and a friend/someone I know has to open their big mouth and remind everyone that I "shoulda known better" and "How could he?" and whatnot.

I don't think he was hating on Kobe, I saw some tape on this and it comes off alot different than the written word. The media keeps stating shit out of context, they always use a sentence that could go both ways, they're looking for the "oh, shit" factor. And alot of times they never use what comes before or after the "sentence" they use to stir people.

There is also a little sentiment that McGrady is seizing an opportunity to leapfrog Kobe on the popularity (and thus endorsement) scale, and that these comments were a calculated attempt to further that agenda. I don't know if I put much credence in that theory, but it is an interesting take.

Well, given what usually happens in this type of situation, is anyone else expecting within the next few months either a woman comes out and claims she's McGrady's mistress or he just gets caught with another woman?

Cubs, White Sox and Red Sox fans unite. Its time to overthrow the German Government and re-install our beloved Kaiser. Remember, Kaiser ='s World Series victories.

Originally posted by redsoxnationWell, given what usually happens in this type of situation, is anyone else expecting within the next few months either a woman comes out and claims she's McGrady's mistress or he just gets caught with another woman?

It wouldn't matter either way since he's single--unless he's seeing a married woman.

Originally posted by redsoxnationWell, given what usually happens in this type of situation, is anyone else expecting within the next few months either a woman comes out and claims she's McGrady's mistress or he just gets caught with another woman?

It wouldn't matter either way since he's single--unless he's seeing a married woman.

My mistake. His taking games off last season for the birth of his child caused me to believe that he was married.

Cubs, White Sox and Red Sox fans unite. Its time to overthrow the German Government and re-install our beloved Kaiser. Remember, Kaiser ='s World Series victories.

What's McGrady supposed to do? Right now with nothing else going on that's all the question any NBA players are going to get. And he has to say something or he will be looked at as not liking the media. So he has to say something, what's he supposed to say? Way to go Kobe?

I'm not saying he *shouldnt* have said what he did, or that he should have said something else, but there were plenty of other things he could've said.

Of course, I guess it depends on the original question he was responding to. If it was something like "Please give me your thoughts on the institution of marriage, and the level of commitment you feel both participants of said marriage should haver towards each other", then I guess he was stuck with saying what he said.

Good for McGrady for actually standing up and saying something. It's about time someone in the NBA spoke out against all the hooligans who are dragging the name of the league and the sport through the mud.

What you have in the NBA is a league where guys kill each other racing on the highway, Allen Iverson running around with guns, dopers filling out the Portland roster, and let's not forget the Shawn Kemps of the world garnering more attention for his illegitimate kids than his play. Rape charges really don't seem like that much of a stretch, do they?

I don't blame a guy like Tracy McGrady, who has more or less kept his nose clean, for being just a little bit fed up with all these degenerate basketball players casting a dark shadow over the entire league with their actions. Regardless of what other motives he might have McGrady was right in what he said. It's a shame more guys don't take a similar stance more often. Constant indiscretions like this hurt the league in image, and that costs everybody money. If my co-workers were constantly doing things that were making me look bad and taking money out of my pocket, I'd be pretty pissed off too.

He hasn't gotten off, yet, and the court of public opinion doesn't seem to be overwhelmingly on his side. You're painting the NBA with a pretty wide brush, don't you think? All of the guys you mentioned would comprise 10% of the league. What about Tim Duncan, a total class act? Shaq is by all accounts a good guy, is he not? T-Mac is a great young guy. Vince Carter, while overrated, has been a solid citizen in the NBA, even graduating from college. Guys like Steve Francis, Yao Ming, and LeBron (hopefully) and Carmelo (also, hopefully) seem like they are good guys as well.

No, Kobe hasn't "gotten off" in a legal sense, but in terms of negative reaction from his peers compared to the damage he's done to their collective image, he has gotten off lightly.

And I'm not saying that ALL basketball players are delinquent criminals. What I am saying is that the number of NBA players who get their names in the paper for undesirable reasons - and star players at that - as a percentage of the league is ridiculous. There are half as many players in the NBA as in the next most populous league (either MLB or the NHL), yet it's basketball players getting busted for drugs or beating their wife more often than the other big three leagues combined. It's disgusting, and it gives the good guys of the league a bad name by association. That's all I was trying to say. Can you really blame the Tracy McGradys of the world for being fed up with the constant bad press that their peers bring on the league, which leads to being painted with the wide brush that you mentioned?

It even prompted Dukie V to pimp someone else's book besides his for once on SportsCenter this evening! http://www.amazon.com/When-March-Went-Mad-Transformed/dp/0805088105/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238119681&sr=8-1